I CAN and WILL make it.‏

Dear Family, 

 

Well, we have another crazy week to add to the books. 

 

Monday, I was super sick.  I didn't feel good at all and i was waiting to see if i was going to be getting on an airplane, or staying in Springdale with my fave Sister Booms.  I slept forever.  When i woke up i said, "I feel like this is what depression feels like." Sister Booms said, "You look like i think depression feels like."  It was so funny and brightened the mood and we just started laughing. That night Sister Shumway called and said, "Sister Ritter. I don't know how it is approved.  I don't know how you are staying, but God loves you and  He needs you here. Your surgery tomorrow is approved." phew. 

 

Tuesday- Surgery #2. I had to get a picline in my arm.  That was the worlds scariest thing on planet earth. It was super terrifying.  The did a little thing on my arm and explained what they were going to be doing.  When they said, "You will have an IV for 6 weeks and the tubing will run through your arm to your heart so you can get medicine throughout your body faster." I was soooo scared.  And to make it worse, they kicked Sister Booms out of the room.  She was such a mess. I was a mess. It was a horrible situation and we both cried the entire time. She finished and then decided to tell me i couldn't use crutches with a picline.  So my left foot is bum and my right arm is bum.  I have no idea what to do.  We called Sister shumway and asked about a wheelchair.  And we again got told that missionary medical wouldn't approve it. So back to square one. But then she called back later and said, "Sister Ritter, missionary medical loves you. They approved a wheelchair."  I just keep recieving blessing upon blessing. So we went to get a wheelchair, but instead, we got a scooter.  It is pretty sweet. (: I just have to make the most out of my situation i guess. (: 

 

We also had a zone conference which i feel was just for me. It was all about becoming a Christ centered missionary.  While i did learn a lot about becoming a better missionary, the thing i took away from it the most is that, i WILL be okay. I AM okay, and the Picline isn't a big deal.  All is well. 

 

I know that God gives us trials for a purpose.  He gives us blessings and knowledge as we go through our deepest and hardest times.  I have learned a lot and i still am not sure why i am having all these medical problems all at once, but i know i am still supposed to be a missionary or i wouldn't be here.  The amount of miracles i have had are endless and i couldn't be more grateful.  I love being a missionary and i CAN and WILL make it through this trial and any others that come until i finish my mission.  I am so grateful for the gospel to help me through.

 

have a Great week!!!(: 

 

Love, 

Sister Ritter

 

Pictures:

1) I am tough!! I can make it through anything. 

2)Our Sister Training Leaders heart-attacked our door(: 

3) My own personal life support. Isn't it cute? ha. 

 

 

 

We are NEVER alone.

Dear Family,

 

As some of you know, this week has been emotionally and mentally challenging. But i have learned so much about myself and the faith i do have.  I have learned so much about Jesus Christ and what it means to me to have the restored gospel back on the earth today. So before i get into the crazy story..First i will talk about an amazing appointment we had. 

 

Ansen.  He is wonderful.  We went to visit him and teach him the Stop Tobacco program.  Because as he said, "The only thing stopping me from being baptized is me chewing. I don't feel appropriate."  We had a really powerful lesson and he was really excited to stop and to follow the program.  Part of the program was to drink grapefruit juice after every meal.  He said he could do all of it but that. And he wanted us to show him a scripture in the Book of Mormon that said grapefruit juice was bad for you. He is so funny!!!! So that is the only lesson i was present for this week.

 

Now for the emotional trainwreck of a week. A few weeks ago, Sister Shumway called me and told me that she had a bad feeling about my toe and she wanted me to go and have it looked at again.  So after emailing last week, we went to the doctor to have another x-ray and to just make sure everything was okay.  The xray machine was down, so we had to go back Wednesday. 

 

Wednesday came and we went back to the doctor.  He took the x ray and panicked.  He said, "That doesn't look good at all. It looks like you have a bone infection. Can you come back tomorrow and get an MRI and possibly a surgery? By this point i was a little scared, but we called Sister Shumway and told her and she said it would be okay.  Wednesday  night came and she called me again, she said, "Sister Ritter, I am so sorry, but if it is what they are thinking, you cannot stay on a mission for the surgery." I instantly broke into tears. My worst nightmare was coming true. I have never been told anything that hurt that bad in all of my existence.  I want to stay on a mission more than i have ever wanted anything before.  So then President talked to me and told me a few stories.  He helped me calm down.  They sent President and Sister Isabell over to come by and give me a blessing and find out what has happening.  They got to our house Wednesday night about 11:30 and they brought the Zone Leaders.  President Isabell did a devotional about priesthood blessings and continued to ask me questions and everyone else there.  I received a blessing. The most powerful blessing i have ever receieved. By the end, everyone in that room was in tears.  As Sister Booms said, "The Spirit just punched us all in the face." I can't begin to explain the incredible night it was. The spirit was there. It was amazing. Most powerful night of my life. 

 

Thursday, the MRI came.  I went, they had to give me an IV with dye in it, so they could see what was happening.  I felt peace.  I felt Christ with me the whole time, telling me that it was going to be okay. That it was going to be well and that this was part of Gods' plan for me. We went to Masakos birthday after that. And in the middle i got a call about my MRI results. 

 

Friday: Surgery day. The MRI wasn't as bad as they thought it was going to be, and Sister Shumway got my surgery approved while still a missionary.  It was such a sweet tender mercy.   I can't believe even still that all of this happened in 48 hours. It was a shock and i was emotionally exhausted. I went in for surgery at 11 and was home in bed about 2.  It was scary. Sister Booms is amazing.  She has served me more than ever these past few days.  She has dealt with me crying about pain, crying about my fears of having to go home, fears about what i am supposed to be as a missionary. She has been there. 

 

Sister Booms is an incredible example of Christ-like service.  She has blessed me in more ways than she knows.  After my surgery i had excruciating pain where i was just screaming and yelling because it hurt so bad.  She sat there and endured.  She said, "Don't scare me like that."  And she has just said some really amazing things during this whole thing.  I have been blessed so much by her.  I know she will always be there for me. 

 

And through it all, and most importantly, Jesus Christ has been with me right by my side the entire time. I haven't felt him leave me.  Even in the middle of the night when i was facing the chances of leaving my mission early.  He was there. He was assuring me that no matter what happened i would have peace. And i do have peace. I know that this is part of God's plan. It isn't my plan and not anything i had ever imagined would happen.  But Christ is here and i know he has blessed me so much. This has definitely built my testimony so much on the Savior. 

 

The results and the solutions are still up in the air, but i know it will be okay, no matter how emotional the next few days will be.

 

Much love, 

Sister Ritter 

 

pictures:  

1)Happy Birthday Masako(: 

2)We are Party Animals (; 

3) Pre Surgery. I promise, the only reason i look terrified is because my only fear is coming home. 

4)My Dad and Gen sent flowers(:(:  Sister Booms:  "Why is there a sketchy man walking up our driveway with flowers? 

 

 

8 Month Testimony

I can't believe it is already time for another month mark!

 

This past month, i have learned quite a bit!

 

The first is that God is so aware of us.  He knows our trials and struggles.  He knows our questions and deepest desires of our hearts.  He helps us and comforts us through our hardest times. 

 

I also have a testimony of prayer.  This past month, i had a question that was weighing me down.  I prayed so hard, i fasted, and luckily, it was right in time for conference.  Through the words of the apostles my prayer was answered.  I know that when you receive an answer/counsel from a prayer and act on it, you will feel God working in your life and you will recognize all the blessings he is giving you. 

 

I love this gospel and i know it is true.

8 Months!

Hey Family: 

 

This week was a tough one. It was really routine and monotonous.  We had cancellations left and right. And no one wanted to meet with the missionaries.  Nevertheless....We had some cool experiences when we did meet with people(:

 

This week we met with a man named Gomez.  He was so nice.  He wants to get back into church and start growing and gettting his testimony back.  We went over to teach him, but we didn't have a ton of time.  We planned to teach him the Restoration.  As we got there, we said, "We don't have time for that. What should we do?" I said, "Lets just share Ether 12:27."  Sister Booms said, "Okay, we haven't shared that before."  Then as we walked to the door i said, "well lets just tell a really short Joseph Smith story."  We walked in and started talking to him and he kept saying how he was feeling weak in the gospel and how he wanted to change.  He was worried about not being able to get back into it.  I told him, "I know we said we were going to talk about Joseph Smith today, but i feel like i should share a different scripture with you instead." Then we shared Ether 12:27.  It was a really cool experience to see that God speaks to us and tells us what each of these people need. We have to listen really closely and be willing to change our plans.  It was a really powerful experience. 

 

The next experience. Not really a happy one...but a  learning one. We had this awesome investigator named Biten.  He was so sweet.  Just came from the Marshal Islands and was learning. He doesn't know any English, so it was a challenge but still enjoyable.  Wednesday his uncle called us and said, "Biten doesn't want to take the lessons anymore. I am so sorry sisters...we aren't sure why."  At that moment my heart snapped in half. I was so sad.  I felt such Christlike love for him at that moment, and such sorrow that He didn't want to learn more.  Then it made me realize what love Heavenly Father has for me.  And the sorrow He feels when we choose to sin and not follow his commandments or do the simple things he has asked us to do.  It made me realize how important it is to make God proud. Because it was painful for me to have to see Biten not want to learn more, and i don't want to ever feel like that again. So this week was full of personal changes to be more like the savior would want me to be. 

 

We also had a really fun family home evening with the Joseph Family.  They were so sweet.  The fed us dinner. Which we had just had right before their lesson.  Set appointment no matter what time of day= Food. So they bring us this huge plate full of millions of different things.  We had an hour left, so we had plenty of time to eat all of it.  Included on the plate: rice, noodles, shrimp, mussels, chicken, beef, broccoli, ribs, and potatoe chips.  It was so much food, and tons of food i hadn't tried before and was really praying hard i would like.  Sister Booms tried a muscles and just chowed it down with like 10 pounds of rice. Then we both had to learn how to de-shell a shrimp.  (I couldn't rip the legs off, it made me sad. So sister Booms did it for me.) I knew this was gonna be rough...so i asked for tobasco sauce and i drowned my entire plate full of it. My mouth was on fire, but i was successful in eating a shrimp. So it gets close to our curfew and i still have a full plate left, Sister Booms ate everything real fast since she didn't like shrimp either.  I just ate really slow. In the car she said, "How did you do that??? You are so rude for not eating a mussel with  me."  It was awesome. We laughed forever. 

 

Have a great week. 

 

Love, Sister Ritter

 

pictures: 

1) Me and my favorite Keyoshi

2) Me and my favorite Tommy, David, Keyoshi, and Hacknie

3) 8 months! Holla!

 

Because He Lives.

Yokwe Baamle and Friends:

 

This week was such an incredible week full of countless blessings and endless miracles!  We have been working so hard here and the Lord is truly blessing us for our diligence(:  We had some amazing things happen that we were so shocked. 

 

 We have still been going to see Josephine and her family regularly and teaching them.  They are still all very excited to get baptized on the 2 of May.  The son, David, has been going around and telling all of his relatives that he is getting baptized into the church.  He is so amazing.  One of the trials and things that have been stopping them from commitment to baptism is that Josephine works for 12 hours on Sunday, and there isn't any time for her to come to church.  She understands that once she is baptized and doesn't go to church, she will be breaking a commandment.  Well. We went over this week and she said, "Sister I have been praying really hard that i might be able to come to church every week. So i went to work yesterday and looked at the schedule and i was off on Sunday. And it was really weird, so i asked my boss and she said, 'You aren't going to work on Sundays anymore.'  I know God is blessing us, now i can come to church every single Sunday."  Me and Sister Booms were so excited.  We couldn't help but smile from ear to ear.  It helps me know that She truly is prepared, that the Lord is blessing her and her righteous desires. It was such a powerful lesson.

 

Next Miracle, is with Marylynn and her sister Mary.  She is really hard to get a hold of and every time we go and try to see her she doesn't let us in. So when we make an appointment. She is never home. We randomly(and later realized it wasn't random at all) decided to go and show her the Easter video we have been sharing.  We walk up to her door and she said, "We can't meet right now. We are busy." Sister Booms said, "Can we just show you a 2 minute video?" She went back inside and came out about 5 minutes later and said, "Actually, please come in."  We shared the video with her, Mary, and their Mom.  After the video i felt prompted to ask her to be baptized. She said, "I want to be baptized on the 18 of April." Then...this is the crazy part. Her sister, Mary, says, "Sisters, can you come and teach me and can i be baptized too?" WHAT. It was unreal. We got a baptism date and she wasn't even an investigator. They too, have been prepared.

 

Third miracle. We were sitting at conference, and Brother Boaz came up to us and said, "I have someone you need to go and bring back to God. His name is Gomez, and he is a Springdale Police officer."  So we immediately drove to his house. He is the nicest man ever and wants nothing more than to "raise my girls in the true church here on earth. I want my girls to be just like the two of you when they are older."  We visited with him for about 30 minutes. And he said, "I just need God back in my life."  

 

The fourth an final miracle this week, We got a new investigator named Biden, straight from the Marshal Islands.  He doesn't know a single word of English, so lessons are extremely difficult, but it helps us teach simply.  We asked him to be baptized and he said yes.  Then his uncle (who he is living with) said, "He will either get baptized. Or he will get a black eye."  We all laughed and then he said the most humble prayer i have ever heard. (translated of course.) I absolutely love these people. 

 

So the last miracle for today.  A few weeks ago, i got a blessing that said i would be able to understand and communicate with the people i have served.  Well that blessing is real.  This week i was able to understand a lot of Marshallese. They would say something and Sister Booms would say, "What in the world did they say?" And before the Sister we were with would translate, i said, "Oh they said....." and it was right.  I can truly feel the Lord blessing us so much in this area.  It is unreal. Now i just have to figure out how to speak Marshallese(: 

 

Now for a random fun fact. This week, Sister Booms and I were trying to teach each other different things.  She was trying to teach me to make noise when i laugh.  In doing so, she poured a whole water bottle on her head, and then threw herself off a chair onto the floor twice. she now has a huge bruise.  It was hilarious. I was trying to teach Sister Booms what a hipster was. Also hilarious. Needless to say, we both failed. (; 

 

I know that i have all of these wonderful miracles because Jesus Christ lives.  I know He is here guiding the work. And i know he is also hastening the hearts of everyone to turn to Him and take part of the wonderful gospel He teaches. I know He lives.

 

Have a great week. 

Love, 

Jijtor Ritter

 

pictures:

1) Beautiful Marshal Islands of Arkansas(; 

2)Funniest sign in the world.

3) "Onward, Ever onward."

4) Happy Easter

 

Boring Week.

Yokwe Baamle:

 

This week was pretty insane. And by insane, I mean, the LONGEST and most boring week ever.

Why you might ask? Well...

 

Monday, Sister Shumway called me and told me that I needed to get crutches and use them.  So we called some people in the Branch and found some.  So that is the beginning of our week.  Crutches as a missionary are probably the worst thing in the world.  So that was that.

 

Tuesday we had a pretty busy day.  We visited a lot of people and got some work done, but no good stories happened.  Except that it was pouring rain and I was the slowest person ever...So poor Sister Booms had to walk slow and carry my bag in the rain.  She is a gem.  I don't know what I would do without her.

 

Wednesday-Saturday I sat in the apartment and watched every single DVD that has ever been produced for missionaries to teach lessons with.  

 

Poor Sister Booms woke up feeling terrible. So we went to the doctor which was an experience in itself and they told her she had strep throat and she would be contagious 24 after she got her medicine.  So we go home and wait to pick up her medicine, but then we got tornado warnings and couldn't leave our house.  So we waited and waited for the tornado warnings to end.  Finally at like 8 o clock that night we finally got her medicine.  That means another whole day at home.  Then when we could go out and work, Sister Shumway called and asked about Sister Boom's temperature. Poor thing. It fluctuated between 94 and 103.  So we couldn't leave until it was normal, which took another 2 days. It was absolutely brutually boring. 

 

Saturday night we did go and teach the James' family though.  They are the most wonderful people ever. (Along with everyone else I have met on my mission).  We talked to them about the Doctrine of Christ (Faith, Repentance, Baptism, The Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End).  At the end of the lesson the son said, 'I want to get baptized."  then the rest of the family kind of joined in.  We set their baptism for May 2.  I can't believe how well these people have accepted the gospel and progressed toward baptism so easily.  They are a miracle that I am so grateful to be blessed with.  I love them dearly.

 

Although we were trapped at home all week, and we have both been a medical mess. I learned/realized something really cool.  There is a song that me and Sister Booms listen to all the time.  There is a line in it that says, "We have been foreordained to take part in His great work."  I think that is the coolest thing ever.  We were chosen before this earth life to come and preach the gospel in the OTM.  Every event we have ever gone through was so we could be here at this exact second to be a missionary.  Everything happened to get us where we are today.  It was such a cool realization I had.  We were talking about it and Sister Booms says, "yeah. And God has to get everyone in the exact place to where they need to be to bless others lives...plus you have the exciting factor of personal agency."  OH BOY.  We talked forever about how incredible the plan of God is.  How he knows us and knows what we need to be and do in order to fill our purpose here on earth.  God is real. And I am so glad that I have used my agency to get me here today.

 

That's all for this week(:

 

Love you all.

 

Love,

Sister Ritter

 

The only picture I took this week is this one.  We were so bored. We found a ham in our freezer. We made it. Probably at least 10 years old...but hey. It took a lot of our time to figure out how to cook it!(: